Baton Rouge’s traffic woes are so infamous, a university nearly 400 miles away has studied it. Texas A&M this month claimed the average driver in the city uses up 25 gallons and $1,100 in missed opportunities each year, all because of traffic.

All of the candidates agreed that a new Mississippi River span would alleviate the problem.

“Clearly, we need a new bridge,” said Democratic candidate Beverly Brooks Thompson.

“We’re not throwing money at the problem when it comes to roads and bridges,” said Republican candidate Bob Bell.

Some of the hopefuls argue public-private partnerships can fund a new bridge. Others want to finance it through a higher gas tax, which remains unchanged since 1989, despite many efforts to raise it.

“We have to make sure that there is money available, so that when the feds drop money down, we are able to capture that,” Thompson said.

A few of the candidates claim the state has collected enough tax dollars and should better use what’s already in the bank.

“If you take the money that’s supposed to go to roads and bridges, and you spend it on something else for 30 years, it’s a tremendous hold,” Bell said.

“I think we need more accountability in terms of where state dollars should be spent,” Baudean said.

But lawmakers looking to fix traffic — or any other matter — through state-level taxes will likely have to wait until 2021. That’s because legislators cannot discuss tax policies during regular sessions in even-numbered years.

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